Crafty Wonderland

What’s in the goodie bags?

craftywonderland — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:32:22 +0000

Have you ever wondered what’s in the goodie bags we hand out at the opening of each show? And why people line up so early to get one?! Check out this fantastic video made by the very talented Jen Neitzel!

We want you!

craftywonderland — Mon, 07 May 2012 17:38:02 +0000

Want to be involved in our Super Colossal Spring Sale this coming Saturday, May 12th? We have some really fun volunteer opportunities available! Sign up here!

Artist of the Month: Polly Danger

craftywonderland — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:03:12 +0000

Our Artist of the Month for April is the very talented Polly Danger! Polly Danger creates adorable goods for cute-lovin’ people, bringing you handmade mini-wallets, coin purses, checkbook covers and purses She also serves up heirloom sewing notions like bias tapes, buttons, patterns and other unique and inspired sewing notions to help you find your inner crafter. Polly Danger uses only the loveliest in new and vintage fabrics, hand-picked just for you from all over the globe. If you’re not able to make it into the shop to check out her sweet goods in person, you can find her online.

Web banners and postcards!

craftywonderland — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:06:36 +0000

Web banners and postcards suited for online promotion are now available on the Downloads page! We’d love your help in spreading the word about our upcoming Super Colossal Spring Sale on May 12th!

Apply to Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle!

craftywonderland — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 19:18:37 +0000

While some of you are already familiar with this awesome event in our sister city to the north, we wanted to be sure to spread the word about Urban Craft Uprising. UCU is Seattle’s largest indie craft show and is held twice a year at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Kristen and Lindsey are the ladies behind the show (kind of the Torie and Cathy of Seattle!) and we are excited to work with them to help cross promote our shows to vendors since Seattle and Portland are just a short drive from each other. If you have never sold at an out of town show, this is a great opportunity to give it a try while not straying too far from home!

Urban Craft Uprising is now accepting applications for their summer show (July 7th & 8th) but you need to act fast – the deadline is April 13th! We have personally sold at this show and have seen first hand how the hardcore Seattle shoppers support their handmade goods! Last summer UCU had over 6,000 excited shoppers attend over two days and they expect that number to be even higher for this year’s show.

Now in its eighth year, UCU offers shoppers a wide variety of hand-crafted goods, including clothing, jewelry, gifts, bags, wallets, buttons, accessories, aprons, children’s goods, toys, housewares, paper goods, candles, kits, art, food, and much, much more. It’s a great event with a great following and we hope you’ll consider applying!

Read up on all the details over on their FAQs page, and once you’re ready, click on over to their online application.

Artist of the Month: Robot Candy

craftywonderland — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 15:01:04 +0000

We are super excited about a fun feature that we have added in the new shop space…each month one of our vendors will be showcased as Artist of the Month! All of their goods will be displayed together under the amazing new mural that was done by the charming and talented BT Livermore! The featured vendor will also be creating exciting new work that will only be available for that month! Pretty cool, right?!

Our very first Artist of the Month is the ever crafty team of Jenn Hill + Jenny Tiffany from Robot Candy. They have been making the world cuter since 2002 with their amazing work that reflects a combination of mid-century, Scandinavian and Japanese design. You may know these ladies from their popular tile coasters that have fun imagery sealed under a resin coating but they pretty much do it all under a number of other businesses including Chet and Dot, Plants and Animals and Automatte. Come check out their awesome selection of coasters, plush, art prints, home accessories and more!

Another reason to come to our grand opening party?

craftywonderland — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 22:48:15 +0000

We’ll be unveiling our new mural by fabulous local artist duo Jolby!! Be the first to see it!

Come Celebrate Our Grand Opening!!!

craftywonderland — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 02:30:21 +0000

We can’t wait to officially welcome you into our new home! We spent the last 16 months in a temporary situation but were always wishing and dreaming of a permanent location for the Crafty Wonderland retail shop! Well, our dreams have come true and we have officially signed a 3 year lease for the space one door up SW 10th from our previous corner location! It’s bigger and prettier and we couldn’t be more thrilled! This Saturday we will be celebrating the occasion with coffee, doughnuts and discounts! We hope you can come down to check out our fancy new digs and to join the festivities!

Crafty Wonderland’s NEW Retail Store

GRAND OPENING PARTY

Saturday, March 24th

20% off EVERYTHING all day (10am-6pm)

PLUS
VooDoo doughnuts + Stumptown coffee
from noon-4pm

808 SW 10th Ave., in downtown Portland
(still directly across from the Central Library)

Application Deadline is Monday, March 19th!

craftywonderland — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:29:21 +0000

You have until midnight on Monday, March 19th to apply for our Super Colossal Spring Sale!
See the post below for more information.

2012 Super Colossal Spring Sale Applications Open!

craftywonderland — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:45:37 +0000

CRAFTY WONDERLAND SUPER COLOSSAL SPRING SALE!
Saturday, May 12th, 2012
from 11am – 6pm
at the Oregon Convention Center – Hall D
777 NE MLK jr Blvd. in Portland
ALL AGES! FREE ADMISSION! LOADS OF FUN!

Even though the big Holiday Sale is still fresh in our minds, it’s already time to start the application process for the 2012 Super Colossal Spring Sale! Vendor applications are now available and will remain open until the end of the day (midnight) on March 19th. If you are interested in applying, simply go to the APPLY PAGE and read through all the FAQs. You will find a link to the online application at the bottom of the page.

Below is a handy list of tips to help you put together a stellar application. Our event has become extremely competitive which means that every little detail of your application counts! If you have read through all of our material and still have a question, feel free to drop us an email. Good Luck and we hope to see you on May 12th!

1. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

Not every craft fair is going to be the right fit for your work. If you haven’t had a chance to come to one of our shows in the past, take some time exploring our previous vendor lists, peruse our flickr pool, and peek at our facebook page to see if this looks like the right venue for you.

2. SUBMIT IMPECCABLE PHOTOS!
Often, all we have to base our decision on is the 4-5 photos or website link you submit with your application. Make sure your product photos are in focus, well lit, and really show off your work! If photography isn’t your forte, have a friend help you or do a trade with someone who will make your products look like superstars. If you’re submitting a website, make sure your inventory is up-to-date with the types of items you wish to sell at the sale. It doesn’t help us when we reach an empty Etsy shop or a blog where we have to scroll way down to figure out exactly what it is that you make.

3. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS!

Please read all instructions carefully and be sure you are following the directions provided in filling out your application and paying your application fee. When you don’t follow directions it creates unnecessary work for us and makes us cuckoo.

4. EDIT YOUR OFFERINGS!

We love that you’re so crafty that you make 10,000 different types of things, but that doesn’t mean they will all look good together in your booth. And it confuses the jury to see so many different types of products in your application. For example, if you make soap, jewelry, clothing, wallets and art prints maybe choose 2 of those media where the products compliment each other the most and apply with those.

5. IF SHARING A BOOTH, CHOOSE YOUR MATE WISELY!

We understand the motivations behind wanting to share a booth, but we do caution you to choose your partner wisely. You will be juried as a pair, so the quality and style of your work will be looked at together. This means that the your product lines should make sense together and have a similar aesthetic. We also advise against sharing with a jewelry maker. At least half of our applicants make jewelry – it is by far the most competitive category – so sharing with a jewelry vendor may lessen your chances of being accepted unless their work is mind-blowingly awesome.